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Vehicle certification complaints form

The NZ Transport Agency is responsible for ensuring that vehicle inspection and certification is carried out in accordance with the Vehicle inspection requirements manual (VIRM) and Land Transport Rules. This form can be used if you wish to submit a complaint about an inspection not being conducted to those standards.

Publication details

Author: NZ Transport Agency

Published: June 2015

Reference: VCCPF01

Version: 08/17

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The Transport Agency cannot require the organisation or inspector to make monetary compensation as a result of a complaint, and nor can the Transport Agency provide compensation. If you wish to seek compensation, you may be able to do so through the Disputes Tribunal under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or the Fair Trading Act 1986. For further information on seeking compensation, please visit the Ministry of Consumer Affairs website(external link).

Alternatively, if your complaint relates to a Motor Trade Association (MTA) member, you may be able to pursue it through the MTA mediation service. The MTA mediation service can be contacted on 0508 682 633, or at MTA's Mediation Service(external link).

The Transport Agency may only investigate complaints that relate to a vehicle certification issue or the behaviour of a vehicle inspector, as per the VIRM. We can only action complaints that relate to individuals and organisations that we have authorised and have jurisdiction over. This includes inspecting organisations, vehicle inspectors (Warrant/Certificate of Fitness), and other vehicle certifiers, but not motor vehicle dealers (unless they are also inspecting organisations) or people selling vehicles privately. The Transport Agency is only able to progress complaints if the condition of the vehicle at the time of the original certification can be reliably determined. We may not be able to reliably determine this, and therefore a complaint may not be able to be progressed, if:

the original certification was more than six months ago; or

the vehicle has travelled a significant distance since the original certification, which may have impacted on the condition of the vehicle; or

the vehicle has been repaired or otherwise altered since the certification; or

the complaint relates only to tyres or wheels, as these can be easily removed from a vehicle.

In order to investigate a complaint, we may need to inspect the vehicle concerned and assess, to the extent that we are able, what condition the vehicle was in at the time of the inspection. You are not obliged to have the vehicle inspected, but it may limit our ability to follow up on the complaint if you do not.

We aim to complete complaint investigations as quickly as possible, however, there may be factors that can cause delays, for example, vehicle is not immediately available for inspection, Vehicle Inspector is not immediately available for interview, or vehicle and Inspecting Organisation may be in different regions, etc. More complex complaints may also take longer. The complainant will be advised of any delays by email if they arise.